(Today we present the second part of Robert Vollman's Flames Comparables series. This post will focus on some "supporting" offensive players)

Matt Stajan, 27

Acquired in the Phaneuf deal, the Flames have invested $3.5 million a year in Matt Stajan, so you know they'll give him every opportunity to succeed.Stajan has shown steady improvement throughout his career, leaving him on the brink of breaking the 20 goal and 60 point barriers after two seasons on the cusp.

Age Closest ComparableGPGA PTS

25 Tim Ecclestone1972-73 78 15 2742

26 Craig Ramsay1977-78 80 23 3861

26 Larry Popein1956-57 67 11 2132

27 Derek Smith1981-82 616 1117

27 Mike Ribeiro2007-08 76 27 5784

25 Don Raleigh1951-52 70 20 5272

25 Jarret Stoll2007-08 81 14 2236

28 Kelly Kisio1987-88 77 17 4259

29 Blake Dunlop1982-83 78 16 3349

29 Steve Kasper1988-89 78 14 2438

Worst (Smith)828 1422

Best (Ribeiro)82 30 6191

Average82 18 3654

Personally I'm really curious if Stajan could have a break-out season like Mike Ribeiro if he had an opportunity on the top line and the 1st power play unit.Stajan could actually be Tanguay's equal as a playmaker, which ought to get him those 36 assists even if he's “stuck” with Bourque, and far more if he can win a spot from the faltering Jokinen.Since goal-scoring won't be his focus regardless of where he plays, I figure 20 is his high water mark, and even that might take a lucky break in shooting percentage.Pencil me in for the “over” on this one.

Niklas Hagman, 31, 2nd/depth LW

Niklas Hagman, son of the NHL's first Finnish-trained player Matti “Hakki” Hagman, should be easy to predict.His even-strength scoring rate has been exactly 2.0 per 60 minutes for three straight years, during which time he always topped 20 goals and 40 points.Still, his scoring slipped a bit as a Flame, and at his age he's bound to return to his previously-established scoring level of 21-29 points eventually – will it be this year?

Age Closest ComparableGPGA PTS

32 Chris Clark2008-09 32156

33 Dave Reid1997-98 656 1319

29 Scott Mellanby1995-96 79 28 3563

33 Ron Murphy1966-67 39 10 1626

33 Kenny Wharram1966-67 70 29 3362

29 Don Saleski1978-79 51 10414

31 Mike McPhee1991-92 78 13 1225

30 Ernie Hicke1977-78 418 1321

32 Eddie Shack1969-70 73 21 1233

29 Keith Jones1997-98 233811

Worst (Clark)822 1214

Best (Wharram)82 34 3973

Average82 17 2239

Unless Hagman is traded to a team with players like Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito, I doubt he'll bloom this late into a 60-point player like 33-year-old Kenny Wharram.

Instead look at Mike McPhee – now there was another player to whom you could set your watch.In his 10 NHL seasons he invariably scored 16-23 goals and 15-22 assists, right up until and including his final season at age 33.His worst season came at age 31 due to increased competition on the left side, and that's the key for Hagman, too.Sandwiched between Tanguay and Glencross on the depth chart, with Iggy, Bourque and Moss on the right side, Hagman will have to prove himself to Coach Sutter quickly to continue to score at this level.

Daymond Langkow, 34, depth C

Acquired for depth talent Denis Gauthier and Oleg Saprykin just before the lock-out, Langkow has been one of the Flames most consistent two-way players, spiking to 33 goals and 77 points at age 30 before making a precipitous but consistent decline to just 14 goals and 37 points three seasons later.If we unrealistically assume he's healthy, will Langkow bounce back to a top-six rate of scoring, or are the Flames paying $4.25 million for another Craig Conroy?

Age Closest ComparableGPGA PTS

34 Baldy Cotton 1936-37 29202

32 Scott Mellanby1998-99 67 19 2948

34 Miroslav Satan2008-09 65 17 1835

34 Andy Hebenton1963-64 70 12 1123

33 Todd White2008-09 82 21 4970

35 Dave Taylor1990-91 73 18 2442

32 Joe Carveth1950-51 30156

32 Gerry Meehan1978-79 18235

34 Eric Nesterenko1967-68 71 11 2637

32 Trevor Linden2002-03 71 20 2343

Worst (Cotton)82606

Best (White)82 21 4970

Average82 15 2338

Things don't look good for Langkow.Even without the news of his slow recovery from last season's injury, a high number of his comparables had to wrap up their career at this point of their arcs – 3 players on this list and 2 that just missed, Dave Poulin and Rick Kehoe.

Still, Langkow's decline has been far faster than it ought to have been, and his fine defensive play should guarantee him the ice-time opportunities he needs to demonstrate whether he still has the scoring touch.In the unlikely event that he's 100%, I'll take the over.

Almost dead on what I did just with 5 year trendlines on goals, except those numbers showed something more optimisitc for Hagman at 31. The trendline slope for his is high because he had 8 goals only in 05-06. Stajan I had at 22 goals and Langkow 14.

Quick question......does the development of the game have an affect on these numbers? I noticed a bunch of stats taken from players who played in the 50's & 60's.

Just wondering how accurate these can be based on the fact the style of the game has changed so much since then.

The interesting thing about hockey is that, no matter the changes, things eventually settle into a narrow range when it comes to scoring. I think it's something between 5.5-6.5 goals per game.

That said, there are certainly disparate eras that need to be considered. For example, the late-80's to early-90's saw a ton of scoring and then after that things settled into the "dead puck" era before the lock-out.

My knowledge of 50's-60's hockey isn't that great, so maybe Robert can clarify further.

Hockey was indeed much different in the 50s and 60s (expansion was 1967-68).

Without going into a whole big story, anyone who scored 40 goals a season (in 70 games) was considered exceptional. Point-a-game players were uncommon in the early 50s and you never had more than a half-dozen or so in the 60s.

The most important thing to remember is to normalize the data to modern day scoring levels before looking for comparables.